CHACHA'S CLOSET; nobody's perfect

No body's perfect....! And that's exactly how my hair was not today; perfect,  not even close. That's why I decided to wear my cute little black hat. It's the absolute best remedy for bad hair days. But today I'm not focusing on my bad hair day or the hat. Today it's about my good-girl-gone bad leather jacket.
Since the first time this beauty caught my eye I fell in love with it. It's just such a cool piece to have in your closet. It's super versatile, from jeans and a t shirt to evening gowns. It took me a while to find the right one, rich looking material, great fit and look and most important with good price tag. Of course my happiness didn't last long when I discovered a little rip on the right side seam of my jacket. I almost cried when I saw it. I had it hanging in the closet for a few days and I have no clue how it got there, this is my third time wearing it. You can't really see it because it has been fixed but I know it's there and it kind of bothers me a little. Until I decided to stop obsessing about it.  I just told you my hair is a mess under the hat and that my beautiful leather jacket has a rip....so what? Nobody is perfect.

Leather Biker Jacket: BCBG, similar here, here and here, Jeans; 7FMK, (old) Similar here, T shirt; J Crew last season, similar style here, great priced one here.  Hat (gift), similar style, here, Tote: Rebecca Minkoff via Barney's Warehouse, similar styles here and here. Shoes: Zara (last season)

love this pair, Sunnies: Ray Ban; Folding Wayfarer, Jewelry: MK Rose Gold Watch, Alex & Ani bracelets, leather cuff (old) Necklace; House of Harlow.

LAST MINUTE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES IDEAS FROM YOUR CLOSET

Halloween 2013 dressed as a Gypsy straight out of my closet, Oli's store bought

Are you still undecided what to wear for Halloween? You don't want to spend lots of money on a costume you're only wearing for a few hours? Is the store sold out on the one you want? Hey you're not alone. I have answered yes to all of those questions myself. But I'm not a Fashionista for nothing, Halloween is all about fashion. You don't have to wear a cheap looking, itchy material and poorly made outfit to have fun on this non-Holiday Holiday, just use you imagination and create an unique outfit that no one else will be wearing. Make an inventory of the pieces you have in your closet that can work with the costume ideas you might have and you can easily make not one but a couple of outfits  and turn them into awesome Halloween costumes. That's going to help you the same way it helped me solve this dilemma years ago. Looking back at my past Halloween outfits, I realized that 90% of the time I made them with stuff I already owned. This year I have at least four different ideas for Halloween. So first decide which year or whom you would like to "imitate" 20's, 40's, 70's, 80's etc. You can Google famous classic movies that are known for their fashion sense: Example; The Great Gatsby or you can look at pictures of different eras. For Example: Fashion in the 70's... you see where I'm going with this? After you've chosen which character you want to be, put the pieces together and verify you have nailed it and if you need to buy some extra accessories. It's that easy. In my case I didn't have to spend more than $10 bucks for my Halloween costume this year, last year's was absolutely free. How sweet is this? Below are the four outfits I'm debating on for Halloween. Which one should I go for?

PS
The samples below are not the exact pieces in my closet but are pretty close to what I own.
Have fun shopping your closet and have a very Happy and Fashionable Halloween!

Love Chacha,

Audrey Hepburn on Breakfast at Tiffany's

Disco Diva

The Great Gatsby/Flapper Dancer

Cat Woman

HOW TO SPOOKY-CHIC AND CHEAP FOR HALLOWEEN; LAST MINUTE HOME DECOR IDEAS

Are you like me always waiting for the last minute to shop and decorate for Halloween or any other celebration? I just finished decorating my home last week. Mind you that this is my favorite non-holiday Holiday, as I like to call it. I still need to submit my petition to make it an official Holiday.

But for now let me give you a couple of tricks with some treats in order to have a great time waiting for this Spooktacular day of the year as well as to enjoy the day itself by spending just a couple of bucks. Like many people myself included, I don't want to spent hundreds dollars on my Halloween home decoration;  unless I'm going to get some profit out of it with a haunted house theme or having a party you don't need to go all Family Adams style. With just a few pumpkins, gourds and a few spider webs here and there, you can still celebrate and have fun in Halloween like it should be.

For my home decor I decided to go very light on the spooky theme, I have a toddler and a cat, I don't want to scare them either. So one likes to touch things, play "ball" with the mini pumpkins and the other one likes to scratch, jump and climb everywhere. So I have to minimize dangling things. I bought one bag of plastic spiders and web for $1.49 and trick to have a real-looking spider web is to use as little as possible and stretch it out until you get the look. Spread it all across mirrors, frames and any other props you are going to use. Find a couple of very old books if you want, an antiqued candle holder and a vase with some dried flowers or branches and you are going to get an abandoned house look with only a few pieces, just use your imagination. You can stop by your local Salvation Army or Goodwill store and get the books and candle holder for less than $5. It's very simple to get  a Spooky Chic and Cheap Halloween and  the smallest details can make a big difference. Hope you have fun decorating and have a very Spooktacular Halloween!

CHACHA'S CLOSET ; GREY MATTER, MAD HATTER.

It's finally sweater weather!  I'm so excited... aren't you?  I've purchased a couple of new sweaters for the chilly days that are coming faster than I thought. I needed to replace the old ones, this is not an excuse to shop, I swear. I had a few cashmere and cotton sweaters that have seen better days, it was time to say Adieu, Bye-Bye, Ciao....you get my point.
Anyhow,  Fall in NYC has been awesome these past couple days but soon I will have to cover up much more for the Winter. I don't mind, since I have my eyes on a very pretty coat out there that I can't wait to get my hands on.  Meanwhile, weather permitting I can still have some fun dressing up with my cozy grey sweater and faux fur vest. But there's also another thing I'm excited about: hats.

Yes, my love for hats will never die. I rocked a couple back in HS, with a flower right at the front a la' Blossom, yeap I was one of those. And now that I'm letting my hair grow I can still rock a more modern ones. The men's styles that is, which are so hot right and a Must for Fall. But this great grey felt hat I'm wearing today I almost got rid of. I'll probably be kicking myself right now if I had thrown it away. I bought it a while ago from the men's dept. at a store which is not longer in biz. It was catching dust hanging on the wall and misshapen.  And then I saw this one in black and I can't wait to get my hands on it as well. So there you have it, I'm a Mad Hatter as well as a sweater lover.  One is not enough, is it ?

 Sweater: Madewell, here,  very similar on sale here, also love this one. Faux Leather Pants: old, very similar style here, Faux Fur Vest: similar styles here on sale, loving this Chic and Cheap one I also like this one Slip on sneakers; Vans Originals via J Crew, also here, love this one and many other colors and brands via Piperlime.com Leather Clutch; Marc by Marc Jacobs, similar style here, very Chic and Cheap here, love this one. Hat; (old) In love with this one, very good looking and affordable  here and here. Necklace: Madewell on sale here, Bracelets: Alex and Ani, Watch: MK, Sunnies: Ray Ban.

CHACHA'S CLOSET; MODERN BALLERINA

A few years ago I dressed up for a party in a tutu skirt A la' Carrie Bradshaw. A hot pink tutu skirt which I passed on to my 8 yrs old niece later on. Let's be honest a woman 25 and above should not be dressed like an eight year old. Never. Ever.
Even thou I was already in my 30's I styled my pink tutu skirt with some tough black and silver accessories. A black one shoulder top, studded black heels and some cool bracelets with spikes. So it wasn't such a girly girl kind of outfit after all. A little over a year ago I also wore a black tutu skirt with a DIY  feathers on it. It was a girly outfit but again not too girly. I had an open back black top and blue pumps to match the blue feathers on my tutu skirt.
But today's outfit it's all about a more settle ballerina, more modern I'll say. The skirt it's not necessarily a tutu and it's length makes a huge difference. So to make it even less girlish I added this awesome green vest. At my age it's all about length, fit and the appropriate amount of girliness. I want to look modern, chic and in style and most important; my age.

 Love Chacha,

Cargo vest: Madewell, no longer available, similar style in black here, and a long sleeve style similar to mine here also love this twill/leather version here Skirt; DKNY, (old) similar styles here, here and here. Tank Top: H&M here, and packs of two here are the best for layering under sweaters, jackets etc. Heels: Annalie Leather Ankle Straps by Vince via Marshalls at an unbelievable price, no longer available but very similar styles here, here, a bit out of my budget almost identical here, also love this pair here. Leather Black Tote: Rebecca Minkoff, no longer available, similar styles here, love this one, and this one.
Jewelry: MK watch, Alex and Ani bracelets, Sunnies: Ray Ban Folding Wayfarer, Gold Tattoo: ShimmerTatts via Etsy.com

CHACHA'S CLOSET; EMPIRE SKIRT

It's my first official pencil skirt. It's one of those wardrobe staple that every Chic Chick should have in their closet. I decided to go with a bright color and side pockets. It's is my second time wearing it and every time I feel better about my choice. Not too long ago I bought another pencil skirt but in black and not pockets, a bargain from Zara.
The more I read about how versatile is to style this awesome classic piece of clothing the more I want to buy in other colors, but I won't get greedy.
Yesterday I stumbled upon an article on WhoWhatWhere about pencil skirts and let me tell you that after reading this article you won't wait long until you grab your own. Dressed them up, down, in any color or texture will do. Go on get your Empire Skirt on.

Love Chacha.

Graphic Tshirt: Zara, here,  this one it's on my wish list, love this Chic one, and I own this one.
Skirt: J Crew Factory: Other colors here, and here and here. Shoes: Schutz, similar style here, here and here. Tote: Rebecca Minkoff, similar styles on sale here, love this one. Jewelry: MK Rose Gold Watch, Alex and Ani/ Ipanema bracelets, J Crew necklace, Jardin ring, Ray Ban sunnies.